"Rollercoaster of emotions" as Nolan makes St Brigid's impact

As a pulsating Roscommon senior football championship final remained evenly poised, St Brigid's called on centrefielder Eddie Nolan to bring his experience to a contest which ultimately was decided in the Kiltoom club's favour after extra-time.

Returning from a lengthy injury absence which saw the Roscommon footballer miss a vast amount of the inter-county and club championships, Nolan contributed one point to the winner's cause and was at his influential best as the Fahey Cup returned to Kiltoom on Sunday.

Although he played in the closing stages of his team's semi-final win over Strokestown, Nolan felt he was ready, "if and when needed" to come on and "do my best".

With Padraig Pearses' captain Declan Kenny holding sway in the centrefield battle, that sustitution arrived in the 34th minute when Nolan was introduced for Brian O'Hara Duggan.

“I felt I was ready if called on, I knew I'd come in and do my best but I didn't know how I'd hold up in extra-time. It nearly ended up being a full game, a full 60 minutes, thankfully it was all right," Nolan said.

Nolan looked every bit the player that earned his place with the Roscommon senior panel over the course of a career built on graft and drive.

It made all the effort to get back worthwhile, even though he acknowledged that the nature of the Roscommon championship is such that the clock could well have run out on him before his body was ready to rejoin the fray.

“It's a funny situation to be in, I hadn't really dealt with that amount of time on the sideline before.

“It was a tricky one to get my head around first and foremost. Roscommon were flying during the year, so it was great to see them pushing on, even if I knew I wasn’t going to be able to play myself.

“Then it was about getting fit for a club campaign, having no idea if you'll get on the pitch at all. You take it week in and week out but there's a lot of very good teams in Roscommon, it could come to an abrupt end at any time.

"Fortunately the lads got this far, they gave me that extra couple of weeks that I probably needed, and I was glad to be able to repay that and coming on to make an impact," Nolan added.

The standard of football on display was such that on both sides, there were a handful of established players that struggled to hold their own.

It was notable that in pre-match interviews, players and management from both sides recognised that the established rivalry between St. Brigid’s and Pádraig Pearses was pushing both sides on to be better, and by the time the final whistle sounded, this was another contest that boosted that narrative.

Yet Nolan still felt that there was a lot of scope for St. Brigid’s to improve, in advance of their clash with St. Mary’s (Sligo) at. Dr. Hyde Park on November 8.

“There was definitely elements of mistakes we'll have to touch up for the next day. But it was that kind of game, you were going to have that.

“It was a rollercoaster of emotions really, we were up one minute and down the next, and credit to Butler for the score to bring it to extra time, that was unbelievable stuff. Across the board, Pearses have that capacity, they hit shots to stay in games that most teams can't," Nolan said.

Stayed in it perhaps, but by the end, the gap had opened up and the last minute or so on the field could be savoured by everyone involved with St. Brigid’s, including their midfielder who was about to secure his fifth county medal, nine years after his late goal played a vital role in winning his first against Roscommon Gaels.

“They're getting sweeter. You come in as the young lad and it’s all new, now I'm there and the young lads are coming in and pushing me on, but a day like this is always special," Nolan beamed.